


I Can't Lose You Too

by that_one_book_and_theatre_nerd



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F, HAROLD THEY'RE LESBIANS, I can't wait for Pipeyna to be canon, I think?, Lesbians, Pining, Pipeyna - Freeform, SPOILERS FOR "THE BURNING MAZE", idk - Freeform, this isn't my best work but i don't care because i love piper and reyna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 14:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14718131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_one_book_and_theatre_nerd/pseuds/that_one_book_and_theatre_nerd
Summary: Piper comes back to Camp Jupiter for The Funeral and she bonds with Reyna.





	I Can't Lose You Too

**Author's Note:**

> It's been like 50 years since I posted on here but hey look I'm alive! So yeah I think this is the first F/F thing I've written so there's that. Also, I'm just really sad about The Certain Thing That Happened in "The Burning Maze" and pipeyna is the only thing that can heal me.  
> And I'm not SUPER proud of this but whatever. It's pipeyna and I love them more than I hate myself.

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano knew that the human-god-Apollo-Lester-thing and small Ceres-girl would be bringing the body to Camp Jupiter, where the funeral was to be held.  
The problem was, of course, she did not want them to come.  
She wished she had never received the news of Jason’s death. She almost preferred to have lived in ignorance for the rest of her life than to have felt the emotional blow to the very core of her soul.  
She did not leave her barracks for seven days after she heard what had happened.  
Her friends, while they were kind and meant well, did not understand. They were unable to coax her out. They were gentle—gentler than Reyna had ever seen them—but they would never understand.  
The camp mourned, and Reyna was there when she had to be, guiding the teenage Romans through their pain. To lose a hero after winning a battle was proving to be more than difficult.  
_I will never love again,_ Reyna told herself in the dead of the night, tears streaming down her face. Not out of self-pity and grief because she hated herself for what had happened, but out of pure fear, because she had never felt for someone as much as she had felt for Jason.  
**********  
“Do I need to repeat the definition of _insanity_ to you, Anna?” Reyna groaned as she dragged herself out of bed—her hair greasy and tangled from a lack of showering, her face drenched and dry at the same time from the crying, and her entire body heavy as stones—to face another friend who tried to get Reyna to _“at least breathe some fresh air.”_ Reyna adjusted the shoulders of her toga-styled nightgown (the one Jason had bought for her because he thought it made her look like an angry and sleepy war goddess) (which she often was) as she trudged to her door.  
Reyna yanked the door open, and couldn’t help but let out a small gasp at the sight that stood before her.  
She looked almost exactly like Reyna—in the way that both of the girls’ hair was messy, their faces blotches, standing like they were carrying the weight of the world upon their very shoulders.  
“Hi, Reyna,” the girl gave a small wave.  
“Piper McLean,” Reyna replied.  
There was a silence as both girls looked at each other. Then, as if both realizing why Piper was here, they held each other and sobbed.  
The campers walking by were shocked to see the noble praetor and daughter of Bellona invite a child of Aphrodite—not even _Venus, Aphrodite,_ of all the gods—into her barracks.  
**********  
“So, is this like, a cabin?” Piper asked.  
“In a way, yes. My fellow soldiers who live here are currently staying at another set of barracks.”  
“They’re all scared of you?”  
Reyna chuckled. “Most likely.”  
Piper smiled. “They don’t like you when you’re angry? Are you the Incredible She-Hulk?”  
The upper-right corner of Reyna’s lip jumped up just a tad, but Piper’s smile grew when she saw it.  
“Ha! I _knew_ I could make you smirk! You _do_ have other facial expressions! Man, half of the camp owes me some drachmas.”  
Reyna rolled her eyes.  
It had been a week since Jason’s funeral. Piper had returned to Oklahoma for a few days, then surprised Reyna again by showing up at Camp Jupiter. She stayed with Reyna, who at first had offered up her own bed, but Piper refused the bed and Reyna’s offer to kick someone else out. Instead, the two girls shared it. It brought them comfort to have someone so close by, especially with the nightmares getting worse—for _both_ of them—since Jason’s death. But in that week, the girls had become inseparable friends. Whether it was genuine friendship or simply mountains of grief that brought them together, neither of them cared. They were just glad they had found another person who truly understood them and what they were going through.  
Piper and Reyna were sitting together on Reyna’s (their) bed and talking about everything and nothing all at once. It helped them get through the particularly rough times.  
It was only with Piper that Reyna even dared to try and smile.  
However, the little peace the girls had created for themselves in such a short amount of time came crumbling down as Apollo and the daughter of Ceres arrived at Camp Jupiter, asking for Praetor Ramírez-Arelleno.  
**********  
“I wish it didn’t say ‘Bellona’s daughter,’” Piper groaned as she helped Reyna pack for the quest. “Don’t you have any other sisters?”  
“It’s not your fault,” Reyna sighed, not daring to look up at Piper.  
“I know, but out of all the gods there are—”  
“Piper—”  
“—I mean, I’m no Athena or Minerva or whatever kid, but the statistics of you being the same Bellona’s daughter that the Sybil—”  
“Piper—!”  
“—I just don’t want to lose you too!”  
Reyna’s attention snapped towards Piper, who slowly collapsed against a wall and slid down, burying her head in her arms, softly crying. She nearly jumped when Reyna lightly touched her arm and sat down in front of her.  
“I…I just can’t _take_ it anymore,” Piper said, not looking up. “I…I thought I lost Leo for months, and then to have Jason actually die, and Leo returning…and my dad…gods, my dad…I…I just can’t lose anyone else!”  
Piper trailed off as the sobs overtook her. When Reyna pulled Piper to her knees and brought her close, neither of them hesitated to wrap their arms around each other and hold them tight.  
“Hey,” Reyna whispered, pulling apart just so she could see Piper’s face.   
When she looked at Piper’s beautiful multi-colored and puffy eyes, Reyna’s thoughts were a hectic mixture of _gods above, this poor girl’s been through so much, she doesn’t deserve any of this_ and _gods above, she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen._  
“Listen to me,” Reyna continued, smoothing down a strand of Piper’s hair. “I know you’re scared. I get it. But listen to me,” Reyna cupped her hands around Piper’s trembling and tear-streaked face.  
“You are _so_ strong. You are _incredibly_ brave. You came back here, to Camp _Jupiter,_ and stayed after…the funeral. You have faced so many challenges, and you have defeated all of them with such skill and valiance. You put _Terra herself_ back to sleep. Do you _realize_ how powerful and strong you are?”  
Piper’s tears continued to fall, but there was a broken smile on her face as she rested her hands on Reyna’s shoulders.  
“You are going to get through this,” Reyna continued, doing her best to wipe away Piper’s tears.  
“If you can defeat the Earth Mother with your voice, you can do infinite wonders with the other amazing talents you have. Rome would be lucky to have you, and the Greeks _definitely_ are.”  
There was a pause as Reyna did her best to find the right words for what to say next.  
“I don’t want to and can’t make any promises, but Pluto be damned if I don’t come back in one piece, okay?”  
There was a silence as the girls both took in Reyna’s words.  
“You mean all that?” Piper asked.  
Reyna brushed away another tear with her thumb.  
“On the River Styx.”  
Piper shot her face forward and nearly toppled Reyna over when she kissed her. It ended almost as fast as it started.  
“I—I’m so sorry!” Piper exclaimed, abruptly standing up. She saw Reyna’s bewildered face out of the corner of her eye and headed for the door. “I—I just—I was just so touched by your words, and you’re so pretty, and—wait, no. I mean, yes you are really beautiful…and strong, and tough, and kind, and caring, but I—”  
Piper stood dumbfounded as Reyna took her wrist, spun her around, wrapped her arms around Piper’s waist, and kissed her.  
Reyna pulled away when Piper didn’t kiss back. Reyna cleared her throat.  
“I’m…I don’t do that…I…were you…was that…?” Reyna stuttered and began to pull away and look down.  
Piper looked at Reyna like how she looked at the stars. She took one of Reyna’s hands into her own and put it on her waist, and with her other hand, cupped Reyna’s cheek and kissed her again.  
This time, neither of them were quick to pull away. They held each other like they were the last people on the planet.  
When they finally pulled apart for some much-needed air, both girls couldn’t contain their giddy smiles.  
“If I had known kissing you would make you smile, I would’ve won my bet with half of the camp a long time ago.”  
Reyna laughed, Piper smiled, and their joy filled the room with sunshine.  
As Piper and Reyna held each other close, they were able to forget about all the pain and all the burdens that had been forced upon them, and they simply relished in the moment of love and peace that they had created for themselves.  
Apollo could wait.


End file.
